


THE BALLAD OF THE RUBIK'S CUBE

by VivArney



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-03
Updated: 2016-01-03
Packaged: 2018-05-11 08:32:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5620312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VivArney/pseuds/VivArney





	THE BALLAD OF THE RUBIK'S CUBE

Once, many light years and adventures past,  
Spock discovered a strange cube  
In the dust of a long dead sea.  
He held it up for the others to look at  
Scott asked, “What could it be?”

Spock stared at the cube  
For many moments before he said,  
“Its side sides do not match,  
Though, I feel they must somehow.”  
The Captain just shrugged his shoulder  
And gave his head a scratch.

The Vulcan gave the cube to Scott,  
Who cleaned it and oiled it, and finally said.  
“I've looked at each side one by one,”  
As he returned it to Spock.  
“And I'm aye verra certain it canna be done.”

The Bridge crew stared in amazement  
As he took it to his station  
And sat for hours at a time  
Twisting and twisting it this way and that,  
But never getting the six sides in a line.

Kirk asked to try. “Just once,” he said.  
The Vulcan handed it to him, slowly  
Feeling rather numb  
As he thought to himself,  
“Boy, I must really be dumb.”

Kirk gave the cube some quick twists  
And got nearly all the white squares together.  
Then, he groaned in despair,  
“I can't seem to get that middle white one  
Over here from over there.”

Chekov smiled broadly.  
His eyes flashing with delight,  
As Kirk tossed the obnoxious cube  
Across the Bridge  
To the inscrutable Solo.

The helmsman looked at the cube,  
His almond eyes were flashing.  
That is, until he finally gave it a turn  
And, suddenly, he understood,  
What was causing Kirk's temper to burn.

Sulu tossed the cube to Uhura  
Who sat, laughing at their attempts.  
“You think you're so smart. You try it.”  
She caught the cube and gave it some twists  
Then, to the laughing Scotsman, she tossed it.

Scott took the cube  
In his mechanically talented hands.  
He smiled broadly, as he remembered something  
And gave the square some very interesting twists,  
Then, frowned as he looked down at the thing.

And tossed it to the grinning McCoy.  
Who gave it some half-hearted twists  
Then, glanced over at the laughing Russian.  
“I'm a doctor, not a cryptographer!  
Chekov, see if you can.”

The Russian turned the cube,  
A little this way and a little that.  
Ad like all the others he, too, failed.  
Without a single word, the navigator  
Handed it back to Kirk, who paled.

Everyone on the Bridge had tried,  
Yet, all of them had failed.  
McCoy looked worriedly into the stunned faces  
Of the brave crew who'd seen and done so much  
In some many strange places.

“Hey!” he cried, “It doesn't really matter.  
After all, it's just a game  
It's not as if the Universe depends on it.  
I know it looks difficult, but  
I think Spock should be able to do it.”

At that moment, Rand walked in  
And saw the cube in Kirk's shaking hand.  
Then, asked if she could try it.  
“I've never seen one of these before.”  
And four quick twists she gave it.

The Bridge crew stared in wonder  
And they stared at her in awe.  
With Spock's eyebrows on the rise  
Kirk had the sudden feeling  
That his yeoman deserved a prize.

Somewhere, out there, likes a barren world,  
With no life and miles of salty sand  
Where its oceans used to be.  
Its people drove themselves to drink,  
Because of this cube's complexity.


End file.
